"Mr. Li, this matter has become a big deal. I have received a tip. The foreigners have discovered that our people, Master Huang, Brother Tiewu and others have been hiding in your territory. We need to prepare early." After three rounds of wine, Ma Chaoyun was slightly drunk, but his mind was still clear, and he talked about serious matters with Li Tiancheng.

"Brother Ma is right. I have started to work. I have been operating in the Qing Dynasty for nearly five years. The industry has expanded to more than a thousand companies. It is involved along the Huangpu River and will be spread all over the country in the future." Li Tiancheng's face was covered with a few red tides and he responded solemnly.

"The reason I want to make arrangements in the Huangpu River Basin is that industrial and agricultural production and national economy and people's livelihood require water."

In this era, road transportation was very backward, and there were not many decent roads in the country. Railways were just starting out and transportation capacity was even lower. Therefore, water transportation became the main mode of transportation of industrial products. By controlling the Huangpu River Basin, water transportation could be developed smoothly.

"Yes, after several years of accumulation, it is time to draw our swords. There is no need to continue to rely on the corrupt officials of the Qing government. It is time to show off with them." Tan Jianye continued to speak.

"In fact, there were ministers in the first two years of the dynasty, which were vigilant about the expansion of my industry. Someone once suggested that I must cooperate with the government to hand over some shares to the government to control it in the future. However, the Qing government considered that I and the factories I cooperated with had paid a lot of taxes in recent years. The taxes paid last year exceeded 2 million taels of silver, accounting for more than 200 of the annual fiscal revenue of the Qing Dynasty. It will increase year by year in the future. Of course, this does not include the amount of tax evasion among some people. We have made great contributions to enriching the Qing Dynasty's treasury. If I suppressed me, it will not be conducive to the sustainable development of the Qing Dynasty's science and technology and economy. They knew that I would not hand over high technology to them for nothing. I was afraid that I would force me to be too impatient. I would transfer the industry abroad and bring high technology abroad."

Li Tiancheng analyzed the Qing government's attitude towards him all the time, and was both loving and guarding. As for whether they had ever thought about destroying or suppressing him, it was difficult to judge before.

After several years of development, the total output value of the factories he cooperated with exceeded 50 million taels of silver. Relying on the technological advantages of the products, the annual production capacity expanded rapidly, much faster than the special economic zones in later generations. Domestic funds continued to pour into their industrial zones, and their profits grew at a rapid rate of more than ten percent each year. The profit margin was much higher than the world industrial average, reaching an astonishing 30 percent. Some factories had profit margins as high as more than fifty percent because their products were in short supply and were very short, so the prices naturally rose.

Last year, the total industrial profit of all industrial zones was close to 10 million taels of silver, of which Li Tiancheng owned about 6 million taels, and the rest belonged to partners. Li Tiancheng always took out technology to sell it to others, so as long as the person who cooperated with him to run the factory must hand over at least half of the shares, and naturally half of the profit flowed into Li Tiancheng's pocket, and he actually did not take out any penny of funds.

Li Dong spent 2 million taels last year on team building, and the rest were invested in expanding production. The funds from all over the country were also continuously emerging, and industrial production developed rapidly and was thriving. In the near future, it will become the center of the world's manufacturing industry.

"I originally planned to endure it for a while, but this time I had to show my cards in advance for the matter of leaving the concession. Although I have not grown to the point where I can compete with the Qing government and foreigners, I have many trump cards in my hand. Don't worry too much. I will soon start the layout and all regions will be linked together."

"I think I will start to formally form an army now and appoint you as generals in the army. I wonder if you have any opinions?" Li Tiancheng took a sip of strong tea to quench the wine, and then continued.

"I agree, the time is right, no time should be delayed!" Tan Jianye immediately expressed his support.

"Mr. Li just tell me the order, we will all listen to your order!"

"Yes, if you offend foreigners, the Qing government's pugs will not let us go."

Everyone expressed their support.

"Okay, I suggest that the army be named after the Li family army for the time being. Now the time is urgent, we don't have much time to discuss this matter. Let's change a suitable name in the future. What do you think?" Li Tiancheng continued.

"Okay, just call the Li family army. It is easy to do things under the banner of Mr. Li. Now the people from all over the world respect Mr. Li as a god. Mr. Li protects the interests of the people, helps poor farmers become rich, and is generous. He has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. With the banner of Li family army, he can command the people of the world and gather under our banner." Ma Chaoyun immediately agreed.

"In the name of the Li family army, we call on all the righteous men from all over the world to surrender to our tent."

"Then it's decided." Li Tiancheng then saw that no one raised any objections, so he decided.

"Now, in the name of the Chairman of the Li Family Military Committee, I will appoint Ma Chaoyun as a member of the Military Committee, obeying the leadership of General Staff Yan Lisan and I. Chen Junsheng (a student who graduated from Zhenhua Military and Political Class) as the clerk of the Military Commission. The soldiers from Shanghai and the former new military camp were combined to form the Shanghai Corps, which is a division-level military organization, with a total of 10,000 people, with two brigades, four regiments, ten battalions, and one thousand people per battalion. Each brigade is equipped with an artillery battalion, and each infantry regiment is equipped with an artillery company, with Ma Chaoyun as the division commander, Lu Yuzheng as the brigade commander, and Hu, the former commander of the Shanghai Ministry.

Junyi was appointed as the commander of the 2nd Brigade,... Huangheshan was appointed as the commander of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Bat

"Huangheshan, Zhang Tiewu and others are going to enter the military class of Zhenhua Technical School to study military command. Your foundation is not enough, so you must strengthen your studies." Li Tiancheng knew that the two were not from military organizations and they must strengthen their training.

"After we take action, the Qing government and foreigners will soon take action."

Li Tiancheng analyzed the comparison of his troops with the Qing government. Although the Qing government's army was backward and had low combat power, it was still more than a few hundred thousand people. If it was used to deal with Li Tiancheng, it would not be possible to use it all. It could probably mobilize a maximum of the troops to deal with Li Tiancheng. At this time, Li Tiancheng had a total of about 16,000 people, which was one-tenth of the opponent's side. His biggest advantage was that he was equipped with a large number of large-caliber howitzers. The number of mortars and heavy machine guns was much higher than that of the Qing soldiers, and the rifles were much better than them, but the number of people was indeed at an absolute disadvantage. Li Tiancheng could not guarantee that the Li family army could withstand the attack of the Qing soldiers during wartime.

However, at this time, the road protection movement was in full swing. The Qing army was restrained and could not take into account both the world and it was difficult to concentrate its efforts against itself. When the Wuchang Uprising broke out and chaos broke out in various places, the Qing government was even more unable to take into account both the itself. Then it was the best time to show its strength.

Of course, if the Qing government had no intention of attacking the Li family army, everything would be fine. But in the current form, the possibility is very small. At least they would move the forces under Li Tiancheng. As for where to start, it is unknown. Li Tiancheng must be prepared to deal with all situations.

"I announce that the Li family army has been initially formed. All generals should pay attention to all parties inquiries about the news. Whenever there is any movement, our army will immediately surface to deal with all possible emergencies." Li Tiancheng finally gave a few more words of advice.

At this time, the troops in Songjiang County had expanded to about 6,000 people. They were temporarily commanded by Yan Lisan himself. They had two exclusive independent artillery battalions, and their firepower was very strong.

Under the current form, once the factory areas in various places are blocked, a large amount of materials required for industrial production will not be transported, and the production capacity of the factory will be greatly reduced. Over time, resources will inevitably be exhausted. Therefore, Li Tiancheng's plan is to keep the shipping of the Huangpu River smooth and control the Huangpu River basin in any case. In this way, the material and energy imported from overseas can be continuously transported in, the production raw materials are guaranteed, and the military's ammunition depot can be enriched.

Soon, the Qing government was under tremendous pressure from Britain and the United States because of the concession incident, requiring them to send troops to suppress bandits, punish the mobs who attacked the concession and Li Tiancheng who rescued the mobs.

After secret discussions between Empress Dowager Longyu and Regent Zaifeng and several powerful ministers in the court, it was decided to mobilize Qing troops to move closer to the Shanghai Industrial Zone of Songjiang River where Li Tiancheng was located, and form a threat to him. If Li Tiancheng did not resist, he would directly accept his property. If he refused to obey the order, he would use force to oppress him to surrender.

"Old Li, the news from the capital has come. The Qing soldiers of Jiangsu are about to send ten battalions to surround us." After receiving the information, Tan Jianye immediately rushed over to inform Li Tiancheng, and several other military generals were also discussing major events together.

"It seems that the Qing government does not take me seriously at all. There are only about 5,000 people in ten new military camps. The 16,000 people who want to surround me seem to have not fully understood my strength." Li Tiancheng immediately chuckled a few times when he heard this.

"Transfer my order, and the Li family troops from all over the country began to assemble and conduct emergency exercises at the garrison to prepare to resist the invading enemies."
Chapter completed!